Montreal captain Max Pacioretty was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a second-round pick in 2019, teams said Sunday night.

The trade puts an end to months of speculation that Pacioretty would be moved.

Pacioretty was drafted by the Canadiens in the first round of the 2007 draft and had 226 goals and 222 assists (448 points) in 626 games since starting in 2008-09. The American was named captain of the blue-white-red before the 2015-16 season.

Pacioretty has the worst season of his career, with just 17 goals and 20 assists in 64 games. But before last year, the 29-year-old had scored four consecutive seasons of 30 goals or more and had an extra season of 30 goals in 2011-12.

The winger enters the final year of his contract, which has set its course at $ 4.5 million, the lowest in production. Pacioretty's agent, Allan Walsh, tweeted in late August that Pacioretty had not received an offer to extend Montreal. In fact, Walsh claimed that his client had almost already been transferred to the Los Angeles Kings during the June draft, subject to an extension.

Trade signals that Canadians are really rebuilding, despite long-term contracts and big money for Shea Weber and Carey Price – the $ 84 million 8-year contract has just begun this season. Suzuki still has to run in the NHL, but the 19-year-old striker was selected in the first round by the Golden Knights in 2017.

Tatar is the NHL player who returns to the Habs. He has accumulated 228 points in 427 games, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings. Tatar joined the Golden Knights on the trade deadline in exchange for first, second and third round picks, but failed to score by scoring just eight points in 28 games between the regular season and the playoffs playoffs. It has a success of $ 5.3 million.

As for the Golden Knights, there was no word Sunday night if they had reached a kind of extension with Pacioretty. But the grand movement of GM George McPhee continued to re-train last June in the Stanley Cup final of the franchise's first season.

David Perron and James Neal are the main contributors, but Pacioretty and center Paul Stastny, who signed a three-year deal worth $ 19.5 million in free trade.

All contractual information via CapFriendly.